Replace engine @ 56K?

[DanO]

Juice

Do you know how the mechanic first noticed the problem? Seems like the cam pipes and holders would hide the marks on the cam thus making it really difficult to see; maybe he heard something that made him suspicious?

Did the mechanic take a look at the rear intake cam too—if it were an oil starvation problem or heat it would seem that this cam would also be affected…maybe…

I’ve studied your pictures over and over looking for some sort of evidence that would help determine what happened but am stumped. Please keep us informed and up to date with this project…sorry that it is costing so much downtime and expense.

DanO

 

[Juice]

Byron, thanks for the host. Nice to see that I am your first post. I feel honored. Welcome to the club and may the oil be with you. Trust me on that one.

DanO, my mechanic noticed that I needed my cam seals replaced. I gave him the go ahead and he replaced the back then the front. He said that the back went without incident, but when the front opened up he noticed metal shavings (READ: BAD) inside the case. After investigation, well....

Of course this makes me wonder if the back head has similar damage, but just went unnoticed. My lower front cam and journal set had absolutely no damage.

 

[daveh]

SORRY ABOUT YOUR MOTOR.I'VE WORKED ON A LOT OF THESE CARS AND ALMOST NEVER SEEN THIS CAM DAMAGE.I HAVE SEEN IT ALOT ON EARLY LEGENDS AND ALL AFTER HAVING CAM PLUGS DONE .DID THE GUY DO THE CAM PLUGS THEN SCREW UP THE CAM TOWERS AND RUIN THE CAM THEN TAKE IT APART AGAIN AND SHOW YOU ????.DEFINATELY LOOKS LIKE A BAD CAM PLUG JOB TO ME DAVE H

 

[DanO]

DEFINATELY LOOKS LIKE A BAD CAM PLUG JOB TO ME DAVE H

Yea, I don’t think I’d rule it out at this point.

It would sure be nice to see what the rear intake cams look like; makes sense to inspect these too. Did the mechanic replace all the cam plugs or just the front head plugs? If he didn’t even take a peak at the rear cams then I’d be wondering why. It looks like maybe he didn’t get the cam plug sealed right and torqued the cam down at an angle towards the cam pulley which explains why the damage gets progressively worse as you work towards the cam pulley. If all the other cams look good then this would be one explanation and I think it would be just as likely as overheating or oil starvation due to an oil blockage.

DanO

 

[Arata]

I have never touched an NSX motor, but I have worked on a number of Honda motorcycle engines, which do not appear to be so different.
This does happen to the motorcycle engines, usally lack of oil for various reasons. This much wear does take some time, it is not what you would see from putting something together and just starting it.
What struck my interest, is that the cam follower is also quite worn, which I would expect, on a motor that was starved for oil and run for quite some time. But what does look unusal is it also appears that the head where the cam bearing bolts back on, around the dowl pin appears in the picture to be cracked. Is it??

 

[Juice]

SORRY ABOUT YOUR MOTOR.I'VE WORKED ON A LOT OF THESE CARS AND ALMOST NEVER SEEN THIS CAM DAMAGE.I HAVE SEEN IT ALOT ON EARLY LEGENDS AND ALL AFTER HAVING CAM PLUGS DONE .DID THE GUY DO THE CAM PLUGS THEN SCREW UP THE CAM TOWERS AND RUIN THE CAM THEN TAKE IT APART AGAIN AND SHOW YOU ????.DEFINATELY LOOKS LIKE A BAD CAM PLUG JOB TO ME DAVE H

This was my original thought as well. I marched into my dealer with this in mind and none too happy. However, once I arrived, I had to dismiss these thought , and here is why. The engine was originally pulled from the car. The entire suspension and cross beam along with motor mounts had been pulled in order to do this job. In order for my mechanic to foul this job, he would have had to rebuild, install, resuspend, and drop the car for a start. I know for a fact that this engine was never reinstalled. I'm almost positive that the new belt never even made it on the engine.

I guess the engine could have been started right there on the stand, but is that common practice? More likely, this damage has been going on for some time now. The first question from everyone is, "Has anyone ever been in this engine before?" Of course, I do not know for certain.

Does a dealer charge for time spent on the lot, or under the knife? At this point, I think they will have my car for a total of a month. I can't believe I'm paying insurance on a car that I've driven twice in over a year. Would this make my car a lemon or a collectors car?

 

[Juice]

Just an update. It has now been over a month since I have taken my car in. Last I heard (over 2 weeks ago) was that a motor mount was cracked and needed replacing.

 

[daveh]

Sorry Juice .I hope they have you back @8000 soon.It'll all be worth it.Dave Heavey

 

[jsample]

give a call i havea story for you about one nsx with a ending vinnumber of 56 that had the same problem and the honda guys came from japan to check it out and also the nsx with the next vin had the same problem. 858 569 0693